Easily assembled barbecue grill with pop-in front panel and detachable condiment rack

ABSTRACT

A decorative pop-in front panel provides the barbecue grill with a more finished appearance by hiding the fuel tank and its associated fuel lines. The panel is installed and held in place without the need for tools or separate fasteners. Pins secure the panel along the bottom edge and a detachable condiment rack holds the upper edge of the panel in place next to the control panel. The condiment rack is similarly installed without requiring tools or other fasteners by a bracket which allows the condiment rack to be hung and locked in place on the grill frame.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to gas barbecue grills and moreparticularly to a barbecue grill construction in which the majorcomponents may be preassembled at the factory for final assembly by theend user with minimal fasteners, tools and effort. The preassembledmodular construction reduces shipping package size, affording lowershipping costs and the minimal number of fasteners greatly reduces enduser assembly time and the possibility of lost parts and assemblyerrors.

Conventional gas barbecue grills in popular use today comprise acontainment casting which houses the burner assembly and a framework orstand upon which the casting is placed. Although some attempts have beenmade to achieve a factory-assembled unit which the end user can simplyremove from the shipping carton and use, there is still a great deal ofroom for improvement. Because many users prefer a grill having outwardlyextending side shelves, condiment racks and the like, it has notheretofore been practical to offer a factory-assembled grill of thistype without greatly increasing the size of the shipping container.Shipping costs contribute significantly to the overall cost of thegrill. Hence the larger the shipping carton, the more cargo space andwarehouse space is required and the more expensive the grill.

The more common approach has been to offer a barbecue grill which isshipped in a disassembled state, to be fully assembled by the end user.Frequently the disassembled grill will be accompanied by one or morebags of bolts, nuts and assorted small parts and other fasteners. Manypersons find the assembly of such grills to be quite tedious andchallenging. Often tools are required which the consumer either does notown or which the consumer is not sufficiently practiced in using. Whilesome retailers may be equipped to fully assemble and deliver the grillfor the consumer, most retailers, particularly those selling highvolumes, simply cannot offer such services and still remain competitivein the marketplace. This leaves the consumer with the tedium of grillassembly before the first barbecue can commence.

The present invention offers a departure from the conventional barbecuegrill by offering factory-assembled modular units which easily assembleto form the completed grill by hanging or placing the modules inposition. A minimal number of fasteners and a minimal use of tools arerequired. The presently preferred embodiment may be assembled withouttools and uses only a pair of loose wing nut fasteners (these are usedto attach a handle to the lid). If a side burner attachment is desired,additional fasteners are employed, which may also be assembled withouttools. As a result, the assembly instructions for the present barbecuegrill are considerably simpler than those of conventional design.Moreover, assembly is so straightforward that many will not need to makeextensive use of the assembly instructions.

According to one aspect of the invention, the barbecue grill comprises aframe, a combustion source containment member supported on the frame andone or more readily attachable and detachable accessory shelves mountedon the upstanding portion of the frame. Each shelf is mounted forselective movement to a first position in which the shelf is rigidlysupported in a generally horizontal position; to a second position inwhich the shelf is pivotally supported to permit rotation to a generallyvertical, hanging position; and to a third position in which the shelfis free to be detached from the frame. The shelf is thereby readilyattachable and detachable by the end user in a simple andstraightforward manner, without the need for tools.

Further in accordance with the invention, the barbecue grill includes aplurality of readily attachable and detachable wheels mounted on theframe. Each wheel has its own pop-in axle which is received in an axlesupporting means with detent to retain the individual wheel and axle.The resulting grill can be packaged without wheels and accessory shelvesin a compact configuration requiring a shipping container large enoughonly to accommodate the generally rectangular frame and containmentcasting. Like the readily attachable shelf, the wheels are easy toinstall without tools or additional fasteners, by simply sliding theaxle through the wheel and popping the wheel and axle assembly into theaxle support until the detent clicks into place.

In models where a decorative front panel is desired, the inventionprovides an easily assembled pop-in panel. The lower edge of the panelis held in place within the confines of the rectangular frame byalignment pins and apertures. The upper portion of the panel is held inplace by being captured between the structural member on the frame and areadily attachable and detachable condiment rack. The frame structuralmember may be a downturned flange forming part of the valve housing orcontrol panel, while the condiment rack is preferably a wire frame rackhaving means for readily attaching to the frame by hanging.

Further in accordance with the invention, an optional side burneraccessory is provided. The side burner may be attached using mountingbracket supporting means such as those used to implement the accessoryshelf. A locking means is provided to securely lock the side burner inthe horizontal position of use.

Still further, the invention provides readily installed heatdistribution plates which are disposed in a generally vertical planeabove the burner within the lower containment casting. The heatdistribution plates spread the heat uniformly across the entire grillsurface, preventing hot spots. The heat distribution plates have slottedopenings to allow a controlled flare-up which enhances the barbecuedflavor. The heat distribution plates are dropped into place byengagement of lugs and flanges. Again, no tools or fasteners arerequired.

The resulting barbecue grill is economical to ship and simple toassemble and use. It has a number of features and advantages not foundin conventional barbecue grill constructions. For a more completeunderstanding of the invention, its objects and advantages, referencemay be had to the following specification and to the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the barbecue grill according to theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the accessory shelf in a position toillustrate attachment and detachment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the accessory shelf in position toillustrate the pivotally supported hanging position with shelf generallyvertical;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the accessory shelf in the rigidlysupported horizontal position of use;

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of the bracket supporting means illustratingthe configuration and arrangement of the upper and lower apertures;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the bracket supporting means illustratingthe open end of the upper aperture;

FIG. 7 is a detailed view of the bracket supporting means illustratingthe open end of the lower aperture;

FIG. 8 is a partial cross sectional view illustrating the supportingpins and apertures in the pivotally supported hanging position;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross sectional view similar to FIG. 8 illustratingthe bracket supporting means in an intermediate position permitting theaccessory shelf to be moved to the pivotally supported position or movedto the horizontally locked position;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross sectional view similar to FIG. 8 illustratingthe bracket supporting means in the horizontally locked position;

FIG. 11 is a partial front view illustrating an optional accessory sideburner;

FIG. 12 is a detailed view illustrating the preferred means of securingthe side burner in the generally horizontal use position;

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of the side burner illustratingburner, venturi and valve components;

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the pop-indecorative panel and condiment rack;

FIG. 15 is a cross sectional view taken vertically through theprotruding pin to illustrate the means of panel retention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a first means for attaching the condiment rack tothe frame;

FIG. 17 illustrates a second means of attaching the condiment rack tothe frame;

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the heatdistribution plates;

FIG. 19 is an enlarged detailed view showing the preferred means forretaining the heat distribution plates within the containment casting;

FIG. 20 is a cross sectional further illustrating the preferred means ofheat distribution retention;

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the presently preferred wheelassembly;

FIG. 22 is a cross sectional view through the axle of the wheel assemblyof FIG. 21 illustrating the detent retention means;

FIG. 23 is a side view of another embodiment of axle holding structure;and

FIG. 24 is a cross sectional view of the assembly of FIG. 23 takensubstantially along the line 24--24 of FIG. 23.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, the barbecue grill of the invention is illustratedgenerally at 30. The grill comprises a rectangular frame 32 having ahorizontal base portion 34 and vertically upstanding legs 36 which inturn support the containment casting. The containment casting isconstructed in the usual fashion, having a lower containment casting 38and an upper containment casting or lid 40. A fuel tank 42 (FIG. 11)rests on base 34 and supplies fuel to the burner 44 (FIG. 18). Ifdesired, a decorative pop-in front panel 46 is positioned in a generallyhorizontal plane upon base 34 and between legs 36. The pop-in frontpanel thereby obscures the frontal view of fuel tank 42, as illustratedin FIG. 1.

The barbecue grill assembly further comprises at least one andpreferably two accessory shelves 48. These shelves pivot to assumevarious positions including a substantially horizontal use position anda generally vertical folded or stowed position. Accordingly, in FIG. 1,the accessory shelf illustrated on the right-hand side is in thehorizontal position, and the accessory shelf on the left-hand side is inthe generally vertical or folded down position. The details of theaccessory shelves and the various positions which they may assume arediscussed more fully below.

The barbecue grill may also include an easily assembled condiment rack50, which assists in retaining front panel 46. As illustrated, thecondiment rack is disposed generally below the control panel 52 whichhouses the valve assemblies and ignition switch for regulating fuel andigniting burner 44. To enhance portability, frame 32 includes a pair ofwheels 54 and a pair of casters 56. Casters 56 pivot about a verticalaxis to allow the grill assembly to be steered in any desired direction.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the manner in which accessory shelf 48 isattached and pivoted to various positions. Specifically, FIG. 2illustrates the shelf in proper orientation for attaching by hangingupon lower pins 58. As illustrated, the accessory shelf 48 comprises apair of supporting brackets 60 which are spanned by a plurality ofboards or slats 68 which make up the working surface of the shelf. Thesebrackets are provided with apertures (discussed more fully in connectionwith FIGS. 5-7) which in various positions engage lower pins 58 andupper pins 62. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates the accessory shelfhanging from lower pins 58 in the folded down position. FIG. 4illustrates the shelf in the horizontal use position in which both lowerpins 58 and upper pins 62 are engaged.

The details of the presently preferred supporting bracket 60 may be seenfrom FIGS. 5-7. Each supporting bracket 60 is preferably stamped fromsheet metal and bent at right angles along certain sides to form sideflanges 64, 66 and 80. These side flanges make the bracket more rigid,with side flange 66 serving as a support on which slats 68 are secured.As best seen in FIG. 5, bracket 60 has a pair of generally L-shapedapertures, an upper aperture 70 and a lower aperture 72. Each aperturehas an open end 74, a closed end 76 and an intermediate vertex 78. Theopen end of upper aperture 70 is also seen in FIG. 6 while the open endof lower aperture 72 is also seen in FIG. 7. Specifically, the open end74 of upper aperture 70 is formed by cutting out a portion of sideflange 64, as seen in FIG. 6. The open end 74 of lower aperture 72 isformed by cutting out a portion of side flange 80. As constructed, bothapertures 70 and 72, including the respective closed ends 76 andvertices 78, lie in the plane defined by supporting bracket 60. The openends 74 of both apertures provide access openings in the plane definedby supporting bracket 60. These access openings allow pins 58 and 62 toslide into and out of engagement with the apertures, without substantialdeformation of either the frame 32 or the supporting brackets 60.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate the manner in which the pins and aperturesengage to provide the various shelf positions. Referring first to FIG.8, the bracket 60 is shown in the folded down position corresponding tothe shelf position shown in FIG. 3. In this case, upper aperture 70 isfully disengaged from upper pin 62 (and the bracket 60 rotatedclockwise). The bracket hangs on lower pin 58 with the vertex portion 78of lower aperture 72 engaging pin 58. The rounded configuration ofvertex 78 permits pivotal rotation of bracket 60 about pin 58.

For instance, the bracket may be rotated counterclockwise to theposition illustrated in FIG. 9. During such rotation, the open end 74 orupper aperture 70 will receive upper pin 62 without requiringsubstantial deformation of either frame or bracket. Counter-clockwiserotation is checked when upper pin 62 touches bracket 60 as shown inFIG. 9. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the bracket may be sliddownwardly so both pins engage the respective closed ends 76 of theapertures. In this portion, the accessory shelf is in the substantiallyhorizontal position depicted in FIG. 4. In this regard, the centers (C₁and C₂ --FIG. 8) of the closed ends 76 define a line L₁ which has apredefined angular relationship to the line L₂ defined by side flange66. Similarly, the centers C₃ and C₄ of pins 58 and 60 define a line L₃which has an angular relationship to the longitudinal dimension of theframe legs 36. With the pins and apertures engaged as illustrated inFIG. 10, the respective center lines of closed ends 76 and of pins 58and 62 are coincident and parallel. Thus the angular relationshipbetween bracket side 66 and base leg 36 is now fixed. By propergeometric location of the pins and closed ends, a substantiallyhorizontal shelf position is achieved. If desired, pins 58 and 62 can becentered along a vertical line and closed ends 76 can be centered alonga line perpendicular to the line L₂ of side flange 66. This will insurea substantially horizontal shelf position, provided the frame is restingon level ground so that the legs are vertical. Of course, other pin andslot relationships can also achieve a substantially horizontal shelfposition as described by the foregoing.

Rotation of the shelf from the horizontal to the folded position isperformed essentially in the reverse manner: lifting the bracket fromthe position shown in FIG. 10 to the position shown in FIG. 9 and thenrotating clockwise to the position shown in FIG. 8, allowing pin 62 toclear aperture 70 through the open end 74. To fully remove the shelf asshown in FIG. 2, one simply starts with the bracket in the FIG. 8position and then lifts, following the contour of aperture 72, until pin58 clears the opening 74.

Referring now to FIG. 11, the optional accessory side burner isillustrated at 90. The side burner provides an auxiliary heat sourcesimilar to those found on indoor gas ranges. The auxiliary side burnerhas its own valve control knob 92 and is supplied with fuel form fueltank 42 through T-fitting 96 and fuel supply hose 98. The main burner 44(FIG. 18) of barbecue grill 30 is also supplied by fuel tank 42 throughT-fitting 96 and fuel supply hose 100. The auxiliary side burner issupported on frame 32 by brackets 102 constructed generally the same asbrackets 60 of the accessory shelf 48.

In the case of the accessory side burner, it is important to prevent theburner from rotating out of the horizontal position. According, lockingmeans 104 in the form of a wing nut and bolt combination are provided asillustrated in FIG. 12. During assembly of the side burner, the userhangs the bracket supporting means on the supporting pins, similar tothe manner in which the accessory shelf is attached. Then, the bolt andwing nut are installed through the holes provided in bracket and frameto securely lock the burner in the horizontal use position.

FIG. 13 illustrates additional details of the preferred side burnerassembly. As shown, the side burner includes a housing 106 withappropriate opening 108 to accommodate the flame from burner 110. Burner110 and the associated venturi 112 are secured to the side walls of thehousing by a bracket 114. Valve 116 supplies fuel to the venturi throughoutlet tube 118 adjacent air intake 119. Valve 116 is coupled via nipple120 to the hose 98 (FIG. 11).

The pop-in front panel 46 and easy assemble condiment rack 50 are shownin greater detail in FIG. 14. As shown, the pop-in front panel has apair of pins 128 which are adapted to fit in holes 130 formed in thebase 34 of the frame. Although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 14employs pins on the panel and holes in the frame, the oppositearrangement can also be employed. Also, if desired, the alternatearrangement can be implemented using pins formed as part of the hardwareused to attach the wheels 54 and casters 56.

The upper portion of pop-in panel 46 is held in place by being capturedbetween condiment rack 50 and a downturned flange 132 which is formed aspart of the control panel 52. This is illustrated in FIG. 15. Thecondiment rack is attached to the upright legs 36 by hanging either Onpins 134 (as illustrated in FIG. 16), or by inserting in holes drilledor punched in the front face of legs 36 (as illustrated in FIG. 17).When pins are employed, a slotted bracket 136 is used to hang thecondiment rack in place, as illustrated in FIG. 16. When holes are usedto hang the condiment rack, the upper wire frame 138 is formed with anupturned end 140 as illustrated in FIG. 17. When hanging the condimentrack using the FIG. 17 embodiment, the rack is first oriented with theupturned end 140 horizontal to permit it to be inserted in hole 142.Then the condiment rack is pivoted downwardly until the upturned endcontacts the inner wall of leg 36. The rack is then lifted upwardlywithout pivoting to allow lower downturned end 141 to pass through slot143. When this has been done, the rack is slid downwardly, locking it inplace.

Referring now to FIGS. 18 and 19, the heat distribution plates 148 and150 are preferably fabricated by stamping from sheet metal. The heatdistribution plates have downturned edges 152 (FIG. 19) to increase thestructural rigidity and to prevent warping under the intense heat fromthe burner 144. The heat distribution plates are installed so that thereis a minimal gap along common edge 156. The left and right side edges157 are flared upwardly to promote heat flow around the sides byconvection. The left and right side edges as well as the front and rearedges are spaced from the side walls of the lower containment casting 38to allow heat to flow around the distribution plate and into the upperoven space defined by the upper containment casting 40.

The heat distribution plate includes a horizontal portion 154 which hasa plurality of slots 156 stamped therein. One purpose of the heatdistribution plate is to eliminate hot spots on the cooking surface ofthe grill and to provide a more uniform heat across the entire cookingsurface. During experimentation with the heat distribution plate, it wasdiscovered that a heat distribution plate without holes or slotsprovided good heat uniformity, but tended to produce a baked rather thangrilled flavor. It was discovered that the grilled flavor associatedwith barbecue grills is at least in part due to the smoke and flare-upsproduced by the burning of dripping fats from the food being cooked.While this smoke and flare-up does contribute to the barbecued flavor,excessive flare-up can be problematic, causing the food to taste burntand creating unwanted smoke residue on the food, on the cooking surfacesand on the grill interior.

The presently preferred heat distribution plate provides controlledflare-up. It produces the desired barbecued flavor without excessiveflare-up and smoke. The presently preferred embodiment employs slotsarranged in a pattern illustrated in FIG. 18, the slots beingapproximately 2 inches long, 1/8 inch wide and being spaced 1 inchapart. The presently preferred percentage of slot area to horizontalsection surface area is about 6 percent.

As seen in FIGS. 19 and 20, the downturned edges are cut out as at 158are sized and positioned to mate with the alignment flanges 162integrally formed in the containment casting side walls. The cutouts 158are captured on the flanges to hold the heat distribution plates inposition with minimal gap along common edge 156. The heat distributionplates are thus properly positioned and aligned by the user duringassembly, merely by dropping the plates into place. No tools or complexassembly are required.

Referring now to FIGS. 21 and 22, one embodiment of the pop-in wheel isillustrated. The wheel 162 has an opening 164 to receive the axle 168.The axle has an annular recess 170 which engages a detent axle supportmechanism illustrated generally at 172. The axle support 172 is securedto the base 34 of frame 32 through the cutouts 174a and 174b provided.The presently preferred embodiment may be implemented using differentsized wheels, and thus two cutouts are provided to provide the properaxle height to accommodate the wheel. Cutout 174a is for the smallerwheel. The axle support is rotated 180° about its longitudinal axis ifcutout 174b is to be used. The detent is shown in FIG. 22 at 176.

An alternate embodiment of pop-in wheel is shown in FIGS. 23 and 24. Asin the embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22, the alternate wheel embodiment ofFIGS. 23 and 24 is able to accommodate different sized wheels. Forillustration purposes only, two axles 168a and 168b are illustrated inboth Figures. It will be understood that in actual use, only one axlewould be used in the appropriate position determined by the wheeldiameter. In the alternate embodiment a detent mechanism 180 ispositioned within the hollow rectangular leg 36, generally asillustrated. The detent mechanism has a structure which provides an endplug 182. Suitable holes are provided in the leg 36 to receive eitheraxle 168a or 168b. As in the embodiment of FIGS. 21 and 22, the axle isplaced in the opening of the wheel and the wheel and axle assembly isthen slid into the detent mechanism until the annular recess 170 reachesthe detent and click in place to hold the wheel and axle on the leg. Thedetent mechanism 180 of FIGS. 23 and 24 can be fabricated from aflexible plastic material, which has the advantage of being lightweightand inexpensive to manufacture.

While the invention has been described in connection with the presentlypreferred embodiments, certain modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A barbecue grill comprising:a frame havinggenerally vertical and generally horizontal portions; a combustionsource containment member supported on said frame; a readily attachableand detachable decorative panel mounted to said frame; a condiment rackreadily attachable and detachable to said frame whereby said decorativepanel is at least partially supported by said condiment rack when saidrack is mounted to said frame.
 2. A barbecue grill comprising:a framehaving generally vertical and generally horizontal portions; acombustion source containment member supported on said frame; a readilyattachable and detachable decorative panel mounted to said frame; acondiment rack readily attachable and detachable to said frame wherebysaid decorative panel is at least partially supported by said condimentrack when said rack is mounted to said frame; a plurality of aperturesdefined by at least one of said frame and said condiment rack; aplurality of protruding portions disposed on at least one of said frameand said condiment rack, said protruding portions being adapted toengage said apertures to support said condiment rack on said frame.
 3. Abarbecue grill comprising:a frame having generally vertical andgenerally horizontal portions; a combustion source containment membersupported on said frame; a readily attachable and detachable decorativepanel mounted to said frame; a condiment rack readily attachable anddetachable to said frame whereby said decorative panel is at leastpartially supported by said condiment rack when said rack is mounted tosaid frame; a plurality of apertures defined by at least one of saidframe and said decorative panel; a plurality of pins disposed on atleast one of said frame and said decorative panel, said pins beingadapted to engage said apertures to support said decorative panel onsaid frame.
 4. A barbecue grill comprising:a frame having generallyvertical and generally horizontal portions; a combustion sourcecontainment member supported on said frame; a readily attachable anddetachable decorative panel mounted to said frame; a condiment rackreadily attachable and detachable to said frame whereby said decorativepanel is at least partially supported by said condiment rack when saidrack is mounted to said frame; a plurality of wheels mounted on saidframe; a plurality of axle supporting means adapted to be used to mountsad wheels to said frame, at least one of said axle supporting meansfurther comprising a protruding pin-like portion; a plurality ofapertures defined by said decorative panel, said apertures being adaptedto engage said pin-like portions to support said decorative panel.
 5. Abarbecue grill comprising:a frame generally rectangular in shape; areadily attachable and detachable decorative panel mountable within theconfines of said frame; a condiment rack readily attachable anddetachable to said frame whereby said decorative panel is at leastpartially supported by said condiment rack when said rack is mounted tosaid frame; a plurality of readily attachable wheel assemblies mountedon said frame, said wheel assemblies comprising a wheel, an axle pin,and an axle supporting means; a plurality of protruding pin-likeportions and apertures disposed on at least one of said decorative paneland said frame, said protruding pin-like portions being adapted toengage said apertures and at least partially support said decorativepanel; a protruding portion of said frame which at least partiallysupports said decorative panel.
 6. The grill of claim 5 wherein saidframe further includes a control panel which defines said protrudingportion of said frame which at least partially supports said decorativepanel.